I don’t know if I had ever mentioned it on here before, but last year Bowie was expelled within 6 weeks of starting at a Montessori elementary school, as a result of “violence” from him. And I never felt the strength to fight them on it, I rolled over and took it. He’s very happy at the local elementary school so, emotionally, we all got over it. But, this time I took a chance and voiced my thoughts, and left the school.

The preschool/Kindergarten and elementary schools are in separate locations, so I was never sure if the preschool had been up to speed on what happened with Ferris’ older brother. But, Ferris had a very good year there last year, and we were feeling like it was right for him.

Ferris started acting out physically toward his peers, and I just started getting the phone calls, and the threats of suspension, and all the stuff that happened with Bowie last year, and I was not going to take it.

Elementary school was free, so whatever. But preschool costs us $800 a month, and Ferris was learning very little there, he really should have gone to Kindergarten this year but didn’t meet the September 1 birthday cut off. We had planned to put him in Bowie’s school next year anyway, and had debated skipping this year of “preschool”, but went for it anyway. It’s nice to have time away from your kids, and to have them socializing, and hopefully being educated. My kids were not getting educated at this school, they were being made to feel separate from the group, and shamed for behavior that was likely instigated by another student.

I make NO excuses for my sons’ physical outbursts, but I know from my background at the co-op in San Francisco that my kids are not instigators, they are reactors. And they need emotional support surrounding any incident, whether they were the attacker or the victim. And this school does not provide it.

When I went to pick Ferris up from school on Friday, he was in a corner alone, for having dumped toys on the ground in a fit of rage, and he was bawling. Not just mad and crying, sobbing. And I had had enough. As had my husband. Who is away at the time for work, but even remotely, he knew the whole situation was wrong.

We come from a background of being taught day after day, and through several parent education classes (required at the co-op) of Hand-in-Hand Parenting, emotional understanding, Gordon Neufeld approaches to parenting. And the Montessori style is so opposite of this, I couldn’t believe it. I figured that if he was going to be there for six-plus hours a day, and be treated as he was being treated, we were basically paying these people $800 a month to emotionally neglect our child. Instead of seeking the cause of the outburst, the merely isolate the child for the outburst and move on with their day. This is not effective discipline, nor is it the right way to treat a child.

As far as learning was going, he can write his name. Barely. He knows some numbers, and can count to 12. At the same age, Bowie was much further along. Going to preschool a mere 3 hours a day. So, obviously not a ton of practical learning was happening for Ferris.

And when they call you and say, “He pushed another child today. If anything else happens today, you’ll have to come pick him up.”, it takes a great deal of patience and cheek biting not to shout, “YOU ARE THE TEACHERS. THIS IS YOUR SCHOOL. IT IS YOUR JOB, NOT MINE, TO MAKE SURE HE FOLLOWS SCHOOL RULES.”

Ahem.

So, long story slightly less longer than it could be, we quit. We left. We broke up with them.

There are other preschools in Tucson that we could afford that could do a slightly better job. But, I can take him out and do learning activities, and do academic workbooks with him at home, for free.

In 10 months, they will finally deem him age appropriate for Kindergarten, and he will go to Bowie’s school, and that will be that.

I have been asked by all the people I emotionally unloaded upon if I thought I’d be ok having him at home all the time. I’m not known for a past with extremely great experiences in this department. I know that. But, the prospect does not scare me. I have learned a lot in my 9.25 years as a parent, and I can figure this out. And it’s only for a while, less than a year. He will be home with me and we will just get to hang out and be together, he will not be shamed for having typical 5-year-old emotional outbursts, and we will be saving a good chunk of money. Win-win-win.

That said, I’m now a homeschool mom, I guess? On a technicality? And I’m looking for ideas on resources. Good places to go and do educational things. Good workbooks or companies with good learning materials. I’m not going to go all out here, I just want to teach him his letters and numbers, and some basic concepts. So, if you homeschool, or have homeschooled, or are just up on the subject, please pass along any applicable info. I’m on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and obviously here. Lay it on me.

He’s as hilarious as he is cute, and he’s pretty darn cute. And he’s so unique, and not afraid to let his personality show. And a unique boy needs a unique celebration. The day started off with some birthday pancakes at Denny’s. Then, we took him on a shopping spree at Toys R Us, mainly because we forgot to get presents until the last minute, but if he asks, we thought it would just be more fun!

Then it was off to Golf N Stuff with friends. It’s a place here in Tucson with mini-golf, bumper boats, go karts and an arcade. It’s basically the best place to spend a kid’s birthday. After that, we headed to Dairy Queen for ice cream, and then at bedtime he got to play with his new toys in his for a while before going to bed. All in all, a good day had by everyone.

He’s becoming his own little person in so many ways. Of course, anything his big brother loves, he loves too. But he’s always putting his own little spin on all of it.

He mispronounces like, a million words. I don’t have the heart to correct him, it’s just way too sweet. Some examples: kitty glitter (kitty litter), sprinkle water (sparkling water), Pandaspress (Panda Express, his favorite restaurant), flip flaps (flip flops), roaster coaster (roller coaster), Golfing Stuff (Golf N Stuff) and scream time (screen time). He also likes to tell us how he’s feeling using the infinitive. “I feel like to poop.” “I feel like to sleep.” “I feel like to have cereal.”

Least favorite things: not getting a turn during Scream Time, having his picture taken, the fact that his car door is still child locked, bedtime, leaving school, chocolate (weirdo), and apparently, riding in someone else’s car (we tried a carpool thing with friends and it did NOT go over well).

It’s amazing to watch him grown and become his own little man. So much of him reminds me of when my younger brother was a kid, which is very heartwarming. I’m just thankful he hasn’t needed stitches yet, very much UNLIKE my younger brother.

Happy fifth birthday to my dearest Ferris, I’m sorry you’re the middle child now, but being sandwiched between siblings has got to have some benefit to it, right? I vow to make sure I remember to douse you with as much mom love as I can. I hope you have a great year, even though you don’t get to go to Bowie’s school quite yet. Here’s to 5 and all the exciting stuff to come.

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it yet, but while my in-laws were here to visit the new baby, it was decided that our dog Newton would stay behind and live with us again (he went to live with them 8 or so years ago because Brien’s allergies had gotten so bad, but he’s since had shot therapy for it).

Anyway, when we bought our house it had a few doggie doors installed already. And since Newton was used to having a doggie door at my in-laws’ place, we thought it might be best, especially at night, if he were able to let himself in and out. We wondered what the kitties would do, but gave it a shot.

Mostly, the kitties just went in and out, explored the yard, and basked in the sun. But then, Coco left. I mean, she LEFT. She’s been gone for DAYS now, so many, I’ve lost track. And I put a post on our neighborhood mailing list, and a few people say they’ve seen her around (at least they think it’s her, this kitty matches my description).

I know life has been hectic around here, with the new kitten last fall, and the reintroduction of the dog, and the new baby, and the boys just generally being crazy, so I get that she was stressed. But she always cuddled with me when she could. I never thought she’d leave.

And of course my anxiety has me thinking the craziest things. Namely, is she trying to make her way back to San Francisco? Not to get all Homeward Bound on you, but animals have done crazier things under much less stressful circumstances.

And I’m so worried for her. What if she can’t find water in this heat? What if she runs into a coyote/javelina/other cat? She’s too old to fight like she used to, but she’ll try. Where will she end up? In another home? Will they think she’s young because she’s small? Will they think she’s too old and have her put down? My mind is a mess.

Anyway, it’s been making me think of this Cat Stevens song, and I’m sorry if I make you cry, but dammit.

For those who hadn’t heard, my sweet lady made her appearance two weeks early! She arrived July 18 at 9:20 in the morning. We named her Finley Jeanne. She weighed a mere 6lbs 10oz, compared to her brothers at nearly 9 pounds. And she’s 19 3/4 inches. Tall and skinny.

Her birth story is mostly boring with a few interesting tidbits, but here it is for those of you who love a good birth story:

On Monday morning (July 17), I ate a bowl of cereal and then for the rest of the day, I felt sick. Like I had eaten something bad, or had gotten the stomach flu or something. Not a lot of vomiting, but a terrible stomach ache and no desire to eat. I wasn’t having any contractions. This is quite similar to the way my labor with Bowie started, but his started with a bang. Violent vomiting and the trots, heavy contractions.

In the evening, things got a little worse and a little worse until I was having contractions. Still very mild, but enough to make me wonder if things were getting started. I called Labor and Delivery, and because of my history of being dilated well before my due date, they wanted to see me.

While getting admitted, I had to jet off and do some major damage to a hospital bathroom, and though there was still no bleeding, I was pretty sure this was it.

Once hooked up to the monitor, they could see I was indeed having regular contractions, albeit mild. I was at 3cm and held there for a very long time. Pretty much all night. I walked around the halls of the hospital, I bounced around on a birthing ball, but not much happened. I went to bed and tried to sleep, it was about midnight at the point. I had a few contractions strong enough to wake me up, but still nothing to really write home about.

After I got up in the morning, I turned a corner. The contractions got really uncomfortable, and finally some blood showed up to the party. Then suddenly, after hours of seeing no one, a nurse came in and said some really antsy OB wanted to put me on Pitocin (though I don’t know what the rush was, given that they had no recovery rooms available for hours after I gave birth). I not so politely declined, saying I was having strong contractions, and no one had checked my cervix for hours, and I had never needed it in the past and certainly wasn’t going to be put on it for no reason. (Kind of a breakthrough moment for me really, I have a very hard time questioning anyone in the field of medicine. I digress.)

I was only at 6cm, but things were moving quickly. I was in a lot of pain, and seemed to be going nowhere, so I asked for an epidural. They had seriously asked me every 5 minutes since my arrival if I wanted an epidural. But suddenly the dude was nowhere to be found. In the 45 minutes that it took for the anesthesiologist to show up and hook me up to the magic juice, I had dilated from 6cm to 10cm and my water broke and it was time to deliver her. My feet and lower legs were numb, but I could feel everything else. All the contractions, the ring of fire, all of it.

I felt so damn foolish for asking for it! I did without one with Ferris, after all. But the rate at which I was dilating made the pain unbearable. I thought, if I’m only at 6cm, and this is what the contractions are like, I don’t think I can handle this anymore. I just had no idea that I was dilating at the speed of light.

Just as the OB suggested they break my water for me, my water broke on its own. And exactly like my labor with Ferris, I immediately felt the insatiable need to push. I think about 5 pushes later, she was out. They kept saying, I see her head! Her head is out! Here come her shoulders! But I wasn’t believing a word they said. It felt like I was pushing and pushing and getting nowhere. Then, they dropped that dirty, bloody, beautiful baby girl onto my belly. One of the most surreal moments of my life. From beginning to end, this pregnancy did not seem real. Did not seem possible. And then suddenly, there she was.

We did skin-to-skin for hours, and it was glorious. She nursed within 10 minutes of being born, and I hardly even had to help her latch. Total natural. (And now she never! stops! eating!) I was not in a lot of pain afterward, but I had to sit around and wait for that stupid, worthless epidural to wear off.

And then there were the blood clots. Apparently, I had a lot of large clots in my uterus, which can sometimes mean trouble. So, they had to “massage” my uterus about every 15 minutes to get out what they could, and make sure there was no placenta left. And by “massage”, I basically mean “jackhammer.” It was extremely painful, and would cause me to have more contractions every time. And blood got everywhere. But hey, better safe than sorry.

After hours and hours of waiting for a recovery room (see earlier where I mention no need to make my labor go faster), and having visitors, and already having the billing department tell us we needed to drop $2000 before leaving (story for another time), I finally got moved to a recovery room, with a much nicer, softer bed.

Brien went home that night to be with the boys, and it was very overwhelming being all alone with this brand new baby who I knew nothing about. She would nurse for a few minutes and fall asleep. I’d put her in the bassinet and she’d wake up 10 minutes later, wanting to eat again. She wanted to nurse constantly, which, after several hours of this, I finally figured out meant she needed a pacifier. And I was just so worried, being all sleep deprived and having hormones coursing through me. I barely slept at all that first night. And there’d be many sleepless or very-little-sleep nights to come. The hospital didn’t have a nursery (!!!) or I’d definitely have taken advantage.

We arrived at home very late the next night. I kept waking up (when I would be able to snooze) and wondering when the nurse was going to come in. I was completely delusional. But, I had Brien there to help, which was a huge relief. As was learning she likes the pacifier. Total game changer.

We are a family of five now, and I still can’t believe it. It’s amazing how this perfect little something comes from basically nothing, and it’s all yours to love and cherish forever. That’s the hormones talking. We will revisit in a year, when she’s tearing through the house and making me crazy.

I have managed to carve out a few minutes to write a little blurb about how I’m doing. If you hadn’t heard, I gave birth to my baby daughter, Finley, July 18th. In an unexpected twist of events, she decided to come early, and she decided to prolong her entrance into this world much more than big brother Ferris. I will gather up a full birth story post soon.

Right now, I’m hanging in there. Like the cat on the motivational poster, I’m grabbing onto that branch for dear life, hoping I can get a leg up real soon.

I’m not getting a ton of sleep. Some, but not enough. Finley has yet to carve out her own little schedule, which is a new one for me. Both boys came out sleeping two 4-hour stretches over night, which made things very easy. Finley has a new plan every night, usually involving one initial 3- to 4-hour stretch, followed by anything from no more sleep to hourly feedings to sleeping on and off until morning, needing to be cuddled for most of that time.

Breastfeeding is just now beginning to hurt a little less each time. She knew what she was doing right away, so that wasn’t an issue at all. But I was dumb and didn’t use the cream and had cracked and bloody nipples and it was…unpleasant to nurse her. But I feel like I’ve mostly crossed the bridge to nursing champ.

Healing took longer than anticipated. As with Ferris, there was little to no damage to my undercarriage, so I was up and moving around pretty freely less than a day later. But, I decided kind of last minute to have a tubal ligation, and the surgery was hard to recover from. The spinal block messed up my insides for days, and the incision was very tender, and she basically lays right on top of it to eat. I was afraid it would get infected, or I’d pop a stitch coughing or sneezing. But, other than the fact that they tried to create a weird new belly button looking thing for me, it looks and feels fine now.

What I do know about her after two weeks of getting to know her: she LOVES to suckle. Took me a few nights of being used as her pacifier before I figured that one out. She’s going to be a pacifier kid. Which is fine. So was her big brother Bowie. And guess what. He’s a moderately well-adjusted nine year old that does not use a binky anymore. Also, she loves to be warm. Like, really warm. What I am sometimes afraid is too warm. It’s a struggle here, keeping her warm in air conditioning and cool outside, it’s a difficult balance. But she generally likes to be super warm. (Like her mama.) She hates having her diaper changed. Even when it’s fast. Feeling that draft on her bum is cause for a major protest, according to her.

The pediatrician says she’s not gaining weight fast enough. And I don’t understand that at all. Girlfriend nurses every hour, almost like clockwork. But, between her 2 day check up, jaundice check, goopy eye and regular two week check up, they have weighed her roughly 4 times in 2 weeks, so maybe she just needs some time. Her weight is holding steady, not dropping. But, you know, post partum hormones and all…I’m all anxious about it.

And mentally, I just keep bouncing back and forth between

a. I have another baby. Living in my home. Needing my attention all the time.

b. I have a baby at age 38. All the other moms with kids the same age as mine are 10 years younger than me. How am I going to relate to any of them?

c. I have a daughter. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I have to raise a daughter in our bro culture, rape culture, President Trump, sexist joke of an era. I hope I can do this justice. I hope I can send her the right messages and raise her to be the independent, intelligent badass I know she can be.

d. I’ve created a middle child. Poor Ferris is going to get lost in the folds of this family. Between having a special needs older brother and a very young sister, he’ll be lucky to get any attention. I vow to be mindful of what he needs as much as the other two, but it won’t be easy.

e. I have three kids. THREE. KIDS. I know it’s not five or six or anything, but when you have more kids than parents, all bets are off. We will find a balance, but it will likely take a few years. Lord help us.

So, here we are, a family of five. Learning a brand new dynamic. They tell you that the baby will “just fit into your life.” But the truth is, your life completely changes. You must readjust everything, find a new “normal”, move on as new and different people.

But oh, how full my heart is. I remember reading some quote about your heart making room for all of your kids, but I can’t for the life of me track down the actual quote. It’s like this for me though: whenever you’re pregnant, even with the first child, you have these moments where you wonder, how could I possibly have enough love to go around? How can I have enough room in my heart for all of this? And then the baby comes, and your heart splits wide open all over again, and you realize you’ve had that love all along, you just needed somebody to give it to. You can’t possibly use up your love reserves. There’s always more. There’s always plenty to go around.

If you’re reading this and you’re pregnant for the first time, just know that life’s going to be hectic and tiring and weird for a while, but you will figure your new family out. You will figure it all out. And you will be so happy. If you’re pregnant with your second or later, just remember that you can and will survive the early days. And then you get to know each other, and your family will feel like it’s been that way all along.

For all the worrying I did about having an unplanned third baby, it all seems to be going well. Yes, we have hospital bills to contend with. Yes, it’s hard to be on a newborn’s schedule at back-to-school time. Yes I am still running on 4 hours sleep (tops) per night. But life is humming along. Because it just does. You have no choice but to keep going. And it will be easier than you thought it would be.

Ok, with that, much love to all of you. Mothers, not mothers, new mothers, experienced mothers, pregnant or not pregnant, all of you. And, as I said, birth story is coming!

I was officially 36 weeks on Monday. We’re in the last month here, folks. I can see, feel, taste, practically touch the end of this pregnancy.

Sunday was VERY exciting and also quite stressful. I woke up in the morning with lower back pain similar to my normal menstrual cramps. And I managed to get that pain to go away with a heating pad. But then I was having Braxton Hicks off and on. They’d only last for about 10 seconds or so, but they were consistent and pretty powerful, and I’d have a half hour on, an hour off, another half hour on, for quite a while. I laid down and drank a bunch of water and just tried to relax. (HAHAHAHA me, relax? Sure. But I tried.)

I napped a little, watched some Netflix, and then HELLOOOO I had a few real, actual contractions. The kind that hurt. The kind that last for a minute. Now, don’t fret, Internet. I only had three of them over the course of about five hours, not grounds for calling the doctor. But I did start to flip out. I was like, little girl, we are not officially 36 weeks until tomorrow, and I know the goal is to keep you in there for at least another week, can you not start trouble with me right now?

And the next day I felt fine. I had probably spent too much time in the heat, walking around. We went down to Tombstone for their “Freedom Days” Fourth of July celebration, and also because it was the weekend, we were bored, and it’s a nice little one-day getaway. But mama probably should have sat longer. I drank a ton of water, but it was still crazy hot. Thankfully the temps have settled down a bit, and our monsoon season should start anytime now.

I had an OB appointment that next morning, and she checked my cervix, just to be sure, given what happened with my early labor with Ferris, and I am only at 1cm, which is practically nothing for a third baby. Panic session over. For now.

But it did throw me into mega nesting mode. I had Brien get the bed all set up, I have the changing station all set up, I’m washing all the sheets, blankets, clothes, everything her teeny tiny body will be touching.

And after telling about a million people that she’s due at the end of this month, it has really dawned on me that she’s due at the end of this month. As in, anytime now. Like whenever. I could just be going about my day, and then TA-DA! Lights, camera, action!

It got to 113 degrees today. And I stayed in air-conditioning for most of it, but holy hell. It’s hot. Even now, as I prepare to publish this, it’s 7pm and still 110.

And I’m GIGANTIC.

I am 34 weeks pregnant today. I am measuring 36 weeks, according to the OBGYN. I am huge, and I’ve gained a lot of weight. I’m sweaty. All the time. I guess the technical term for it is “glowing,” but I’m sweaty, y’all. I’ve got serious brain fog from heat, and hormones, and the stress of keeping my other two spawn busy while they are not in school.

We’ve almost got everything that we need, thanks to our wonderful, generous friends and family. I forget sometimes how far our village reaches, but have been reminded. I didn’t have to buy a stitch of clothing for her (well, I did, obvs. but I didn’t haveto), and what we didn’t receive in a care package of hand-me-downs delivered right to our door, we received from our Amazon wish list, almost to completion.

All we need to buy is a carseat. Ha! That’s like the ONLY thing you need to take a baby home with you. You don’t even need diapers or clothes if you can’t swing it, but a carseat you need. And that’s the one thing we don’t have! I have begun to set up a few things. We got a new dresser and I set up a diapering station on it. And I gave baby girl the top drawer all to herself. So, I’m emerging from total denial. See, here’s how an unplanned pregnancy goes. Well, for me at least, and I’m betting a whole lot of other mamas who got surprised.

Month 1: nope.

Month 2: nope.

Month 3: I can start telling people, but it’s not really happening. Nope.

Month 4: nope.

Month 5: nope.

Month 6: Ok, maybe there’s something in there.

Month 7: There may or may not be a baby coming. I can’t say for sure.

Month 8: Well, crap.

So, it’s been weird preparing for her, all the while sort of denying that any of this was actually happening. It felt theoretical. Hypothetical. But nope, she’s real. She’s real and she kicks the crap out of my ribs, and punches my bladder, and gets the hiccups in the middle of the night, and she’s coming, and everyone in her life is thrilled. Yes, even mama, finally.

Yes, once I re-learn how to breastfeed, and diaper her, and make sure she’s the right temperature all the time (because, see, this information was removed to make room for 3rd grade math and preschool snack days and the main roads in Tucson) I’m sure it will be a joy, just like it was when her big brothers came into my life.

Anxiety-wise, this has been one of the most difficult times in my life. Just when I start seeing a psychiatrist here in Tucson, just when I begin to make progress with CBT, and continue to be successfully sober, I get this giant bomb dropped on my whole life. It set me back, WAAAAAAAY back. But somehow I think I’ve come out the other end, mostly intact. Yes, I realize the hardest days are in front of me, but I’ve got a good set of safe coping mechanisms and the love of my friends and family to see me through.

I’m hoping she comes early. I’m getting an early vibe. I’ve been having contractions like crazy (I mean, the fake kind, and not in any regular pattern, but contractions nonetheless). And if my trend of having babies continues, my 36 or 37 week appointment, whenever they do an internal exam, will put me into labor. And she’ll be out in like, an hour. But, we’ll see. All babies are different. She’ll come when she’s ready.

You read that right. We’re in the home stretch now! Monday marked the beginning of my 28th week, and the THIRD TRIMESTER!

Current hobbies include: popping Tums non-stop, eating non-stop, sleeeeeeping, but not really sleeping, peeing non-stop, Braxton Hicksing like it’s going out of style, getting all nostalgic when someone asks if it’s my first, waddling, staring wistfully at regular sized clothing and wondering what size I’ll end up being this time.

Also, thanks to pregnancy brain, I enjoy treating stop signs like stoplights, walking around with my phone in my hand wondering where my phone is, never knowing what day it is, trying to put one kids’ shoes on the other kid’s feet, and forgetting to buy stuff even when I remember my shopping list.

It’s been a real humdinger, this pregnancy. Totally unexpected from the start, and leaving me more tired and more sore than I ever remember being with the boys. I feel enormous, I’m measuring a week ahead. The heartburn has always been a pregnancy thing for me, but now I’ve got reflux! A fancy word for puking in your mouth if you lay the wrong way. Or make any sudden movements. Or have just eaten a big meal. (But not really that big because you are full after four bites, and hungry again 10 minutes later, repeat for all of eternity.)

But, I am trying not to complain too much. I’m trying to remember the good parts of pregnancy. Like the fact that there’s a baby coming. That’s fun and exciting. Yeah, I feel like crap and we have no idea where she will sleep when she outgrows her infant bed and both boys are regressing like crazy and I can hardly move but have two kids to take care of….but…it’s going to be over with in three months. And it will all work itself out one way or another.

After my miscarriage, I had a few women in my life that became unexpectedly pregnant (well, it felt like the WHOLE WORLD was pregnant and I wasn’t) and they just whined and complained. I’m not ready for this, pregnancy sucks, blah blah blah. And I hated them. I hated them so much. How could they not be overflowing with joy at the life growing inside them? This gift that was just handed to them?

Well, now I see their side. But I am also trying so hard to be positive about this. Because I know some women out there are wishing it was them. Trying so hard and getting nowhere only to see someone get it without trying at all. I’m so sorry if you’re in that position. And rest assured, I know what a wonderful gift I have been given. And I will be fine, my sons will be fine, my husband will be fine, we will welcome our little girl with open arms.

I know most of you are still wishing for summer, but she has ARRIVED in Tucson.

Sometimes the boys wake up in the morning, and it’s already 80 degrees out. Last summer, we became big fans of the breakfast popsicle. I tried some different varieties and recipes, and frankly with all the yogurt and fresh fruit, they were kind of expensive to make. And some recipes called for ice cream. Yes, ICE CREAM for breakfast. Sure.

Recently I re-discovered a recipe I had filed away in my recipe manager a really long time ago, and now it’s my absolute favorite thing. It is the Horchata Pops recipe from Real Simple. (Real Simple is not sponsoring this post in any way, I just like to pass on good ideas when I find them!) They are real simple to make (see what I did there?), cost hardly anything, and have been a big hit with my boys.

Horchata Pops

3 1/2 cups rice milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch fine salt

Whisk, pour, freeze, done.

I use half of this recipe to fill six traditional sized ice pop molds.

Yes, they have sugar in them. But less per serving than yogurt. The rice milk has no saturated fat, no cholesterol, is full of antioxidants, and is good for cardiovascular health. The minimal amount of cream added provides calcium, and could be reduced in amount, or easily be replaced with half and half, or a dairy free alternative like coconut milk. Cinnamon regulates blood sugar levels, and is also good for your heart. Flexible recipes are my favorite, you can play around with them to meet your family’s dietary needs and preferences. This one definitely fits that bill.

It’s my new favorite thing, a total parenting win. The boys think they’re just having popsicles for breakfast, but joke’s on them! They’re getting hydrated and getting health benefits to boot. And hey, you might like them too!

I’m a little late with this post. Honestly, I’ve just been so tired and busy and sick and busy and tired and hungry and tired to find time to sit in front of the keyboard. When mama suffers, the blog suffers. Many apologies.

Anyhow, as most regular readers know, April 22, 2015 is my sober date. So, I just earned my two-year chip. And I’m very grateful and happy, but cautious (as usual).

I remember when I earned one year sober, how excited I was. It felt like graduation day. Like a real accomplishment. And then a few weeks later I thought, now what? The idea that I had to do that, over and over again, every year, for the rest of my life, was a bit daunting. And then I went on to have one of the most challenging years on record. It was no 2013, but it came close.

It was touch-and-go when we first moved to Tucson. I was determined to make a fresh start, and leave all that AA stuff behind in San Francisco. But, I got very depressed about the move and started having thoughts. Those thoughts. So, I bounced here and there around Tucson, trying to find a good meeting, and luckily I did. Those people saved me. I needed them, and as any AA will tell you, they needed me too.

I wanted to give a gift to everyone at that meeting. For all the support they offered up, without me even having to ask. From the moment I walked in, I felt welcomed and wanted, in the way only AA can make an addict feel. And I owed so much of my second year to them, and their help.

And on the evening of my 2nd sober birthday, I was confronted with visions of my former self. Very up close and personal. It was like a message from my higher power (which hasn’t taken a real form in my mind yet, but I have ideas). “This is what it was like for others to watch you. Never forget that.” Lately I had been harboring resentment (a big AA no-no) toward people in my life who seemed, to me, to ignore the emotional pain I was in back then, and chose instead to focus on the alcohol problem. How could they not see? How could they not care? But, I suddenly realized that evening that they just didn’t know what else to do. It was the most obvious and fixable of my many issues, and a good place to start. I see that now.

The next year of my life will be full of challenges, as every year is. But, this year I will have an infant. My third child. That alone is going to toss up challenge after challenge. I just have to remember all the things I’ve survived, and remember that this will be joyful. Stressful, but joyfully stressful.